Sweet Summer Sale-A-Bration Gift Box

I want to clear up any confusion regarding the box I created for this past week-ends blog hop.  I apologize if I led anyone to think that the template for this box was included on the SAB Digital Content CD.  The CD contains only the new items in the SAB catalog:  So Happy For You, Punch Bunch, Ice Cream Parlor DSP & Quick Accents Pack, Ice Cream Parlor Ribbon & Button Pack, Sweet Summer, Notes décor elements, Bliss.  The box template I used is an add-on for the My Digital Software program and is sold seperatly: Mini Project Boxes - Item # 120171 which sells for  $1.95 and contains 2 mini project boxes. 

In order to create this cute little box, I went through several steps.  None were time consuming at all, the entire design process came together in about 10 minutes – then all I had to do was print, cut, color and tape.

I started by selecting the multiple output option and a blank landscape 8 1/2” x 11” canvas area.  I found the Mini Project Boxes in the Designer Kits section of the Stamps area.  This box is mini box #1.  When I applied it to my project I had to rotate it right and then select mirror.  It then looked like the photo above and I was ready to “stamp” away.

The template gave me a nice idea of where to begin my design and what the end result would be like.  I used various stamps in the Sweet Summer set, placing, coloring and resizing as necessary until I had my desired result.  I rotated and resized the butterflies, bees and bird so they would fit into the tiny spaces.

When I had it all completed, I highlighted the original box template stamp and selected “remove” from the options.  This allowed me to print it out without having my cut and scoring lines printing onto my design.  At this point I printed it onto copy paper so I could check out alignment issues in the next step.

Now I needed to get that wonderful box template to print on the reverse side of my cardstock.  I added a new page to my project, again selected the Mini Project Box #1 stamp, rotated, mirrored and then selected “flip”.  I printed on the reverse side of the copy paper I used in the previous step, held it up to a light and I could see exactly where my design was going to fall when I actually printed it on cardstock.  I did have to go and make a minor adjustment to my stamps – easily accomplished by using the Arrange menu and “select all” – then my arrow keys on the keyboard to slightly move all the items at the same time.  I inserted my cardstock, and printed only the template page first.  Then reinserted my cardstock to print my designed area on the reverse side (try to remember if the right or left side of the page prints first so your alignment is correct).

You could also just print the template onto copy paper and use temporary adhesive to apply it to the back of the cardstock you printed the design area on – then cut.  I like having it right on my cardstock, it’s just a personal preference.

My last step was to create the flowers for the lid of my box.  Once again I added a new page to my project.  I went back to the page of my original design, selected the flower I had stamped on the lid and copied it (edit menu – copy).  Then back to my new page and pasted it (edit menu – paste).  I pasted three copies of this stamp, then moved them into one row and printed onto copy paper.  Using the Dotto temporary adhesive I adhered colored cardstock over the images on the copy paper, reinserted into my printer and printed this page only.  My multiple flower layers were now printed on cardstock and ready to cut and put together.

I hope I haven’t totally confused you with my instructions.  This really is a quick, easy and fun project to complete!

Stampin’ Addicts 2011 Sale-A-Bration Hop

Welcome to Stampin’ Addicts Sale-a-Bration blog hop, I am the 4th stop along your journey.  There are 21 talented stampers on this tour, all are eagerly awaiting your arrival so they can share with you some of the wonderful products that you can earn for FREE during Stampin’ Up!’s Sale-a-Bration promotion.  If you started at the beginning of the tour, you have just seen the bright and cheery creations Twila created using the fun Ice Cream Parlor Designer Paper & Quick Accents Pack.  If you are starting the tour with me, you can continue on to visit all participants by using the link at the end of my post.  If you get lost anywhere along the way don’t worry, you can find links to all the stops on the Stampin’ Addicts website. 

I was so excited when I saw the Digital Content CD offered in the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  What a great way to have access to all the new stamps, Designer Papers, ribbon, buttons … well … EVERYTHING!  Did you see the Décor elements chalkboard piece on page 9 of the catalog?  Guess what?  With the digital CD, you are not limited to only hanging it on a wall and using chalk.   The individual elements are available on the CD as separate stamps! 

When I saw this I knew I was going to have fun with it.  I decided to make a cute journal, complete with lined paper inside.  In addition to the Chalkboard elements, I added paper, borders and an accent from the Ice Cream Parlor set; and a few buttons for good measure.  You may have noticed that the colors of my notebook are not as bright as those in the paper pack.  By creating this with the My Digital Studio software, I was able to lower the opacity and get lighter color tones.  I can also submit this to the printer through the software program and have it professionally printed as a hard-bound journal.  How fun is that!

While I was wandering around the software program, I stumbled on a template for a box and wanted to see what I could do with it.  I decided to use the Sweet Summer set this time.  The cute border at the bottom of the box is once again from the Ice Cream Parlor Quick Accents.  When I was done with placing all my items where I wanted them, I printed it out.  The majority of the coloring was done with a blender pen, markers were used for the center of the flower blossoms and the bees.  A few strategically placed pieces of sticky tape and it turned into a beautiful little gift box! 

Here’s a closer look at the larger flower on the lid of the box.  This was printed out on scraps of colored cardstock and the individual layers cut out.  I topped it with a glimmer brad, and surrounded it with lots of bling!

 

 

For my last project I decided to play with the Bliss stamp set and make a hybrid card.  Believe it or not, I do not yet have this stamp set in my possession … all images were created using the Digital Content CD!  It is one layer printed on Very Vanilla cardstock, which I trimmed and mounted to an Early Espresso card base.  I’ve found that one of the greatest perks of using the My Digital Software program is that you aren’t limited to using a stamp in just one size.  If you look closely at this card you will see that the background is the same stamp as the main image – just scaled much smaller.  I also lowered the opacity of the back panel so I could achieve a tone-on-tone designer paper look. 

Thanks for sitting with me and letting me share my creations with you.  I hope you enjoyed these projects as much as I did making them!  Follow the arrows below to continue on the tour.  Your next stop is Sarah’s Ink Spot, where Sarah is going to share her gorgeous creations using the Sweet Summer set (yes, I have peeked already!).

    

Bitty Box surprises finally revealed!

You would think being home alone would give me all the time in the world to stay caught up with posting to my blog - evidently that isn't true.  I'm sorry I'm so late posting the details on the cute Bitty Box note card set you all loved, things have been a bit hectic around here.  I've made a promise to myself that I WILL get this done today ... and hopefully have some new things to post soon.

I mentioned I found a few surprises I made while creating this, you might already be aware of these but they were new to me and I was very excited when I made the discoveries. 

Discovery #1:   
We all know how nicely Stampin' Up's Full Heart punch layers with the new Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit die, but did you know you could also make those cute little polka dots coordinate perfectly by inserting your heart into the same embossing die after punching it out?  Easy peasy, and I love the subtle difference in the hearts when layering as above!

First, punch out your heart and position it inside the embosslit die as shown in the first image below.  Close the die and run it through your Big Shot ... perfectly sized and positioned polka dots - yet no scalloped edging!

     

Discovery #2:  Did you know you could add shimmer paint to your color mixture when dying ribbon to coordinate with your project?  I am unable to achieve a wonderful photo to show you just how shimmery this ribbon is when sitting in front of you, just let me assure you ... it is gorgeous!  The tiny glimmering light spots are pieces of the glitter in the shimmer paint, now embedded in the ribbon! 

To achieve this all I did was put about 25 drops of water into a small plastic bag, add 12 drops of refill ink and 2 drops of Champagne Mist shimmer paint (amount of ink, water and paint depends on how much ribbon you are dying).  Squish it all up, roll up the ribbon and put it in the bag.  Squish it around again, making sure all the ribbon is covered with your homemade die.  Pull out the ribbon and lay it on a thick layer of paper towels, fold over the towels and apply some pressure to "soak up" the excess liquid.  Lay your piece of ribbon aside and let it dry ... which only takes a few minutes.  Pick up the dry ribbon and admire your creativity!

And finally, the cards cards and envelopes which were super quick and easy to assemble. I took a 2" x 4" piece of textured Pretty In Pink cardstock, used the Pinking Hearts border punch to make the pretty edging at the bottom of the card.  Punched out a few hearts using the SAB Welcome Neighbors dsp paper pad and layered them with the Scalloped Heart embosslit die.  Using a coordinating piece of paper, I lined the inside of the card and made matching envelopes - stamped on the envelope and DONE!

On a special note, I have to give credit (as promised) to my darling daughter for her aid in designing and making this project.  THANK YOU CASSIE!!!  She claimed to suffer from "sizzix elbow syndrome" after so many hearts were cut and embossed ... could we possibly see a new medical diagnosis in our future?

Project Recipe:

Stamps:  I {Heart} Hearts
Ink:  Pretty In Pink
Paper:  Pretty In Pink textured and regular, Rose Red, Welcome Neighbor DSP Paper Pad (SAB)
Accessories:  Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Organza ribbon, corduroy button, Full Heart Punch, Small Heart punch, Pinking Hearts border punch, Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit die

Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop - Stop #5

Welcome to Stampin' Addicts SU! Sale-A-Bration Blog Tour.  All participants in this tour are featuring creations they made with items you can earn for FREE during Stampin' Up's SAB period (January 5 - March 31).  For every $50 purchase of Stampin' Up! merchandise you get to choose one item from the SAB catalog free.  It doesn't get much better than that!

If you started this tour from the beginning you came upon my blog after visiting Sarah.  Didn't you love the wonderful projects she made using the Good Neighbors stamp set?  If you're starting the tour at my website, just follow the link at the bottom of this post to continue on your journey.  If you get lost along the way, you can always jump back on the tour bus by visiting Stampin' Addicts for the complete list of participants.  This tour will run through Monday evening ... so sit back, relax and enjoy!!!

I am showcasing the "Welcome Neighbor" designer series paper pad.  I'm tellin' ya, this pad is HUGE and the selection is fantastic!  72 total sheets of 6" square papers ... 3 sheets each of 24 different designs ... I had such a tough time deciding which designs I wanted to use, I love them all!  I'm not going to go into too many details, don't want to hold the bus up ... check back next week, I'll be posting more details on these projects.

My first project is a magnetic post-it note holder.  This cute little heart design makes a great background paper, the colors are so vibrant and fun yet not overpowering.  The bird is punched using the brand new Two-Step Bird punch from the reverse side of the heart paper.  I added one of SU's rhinestone brads, a bit of ribbon and a magnet on the back. 

This next project was super fun to design and make, an idea I've had in my head for quite some time. I've been looking for something cute and small to keep my notepapers and writing utensils in, which seem to always be hiding from me when I need them.  You could use this for almost anything - I found a few bottles of SU ink refills fit perfectly in the bottom section! 

My last item is a set of mini gift cards and envelopes in a matching box - perfect for a quick and easy last minute gift!  Once again, all these cute designer prints can be found in the SAB Welcome Neighbor paper pack.  Can you spot the two discoveries I found when making these?  They might not be new ideas to you, but they sure were to me.

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting, I hope you enjoyed my projects as much as I did creating them.  Please continue on the tour by visiting Sharon who will be showcasing the Whimsical Words stamp set.